Patreon FAQ

Pros

Getting to work on a platform that enables people to create things of value and get paid for doing so, all over the world, is a great feeling. It's really a product that helps people and makes the world a better place. The product is fun to work on. There are cool opportunities for building out features and there are so many things to work on so I can't imagine getting bored here. Team members are smart, friendly, fun and very cooperative. They feel really strongly about the product and want to make sure it works well for people everywhere. Transparency is everywhere. There is a lot of trust in employees and because of that, management shares a lot of information about where we are and where we're going. Very generous benefits, especially given the lockdown situation this year - management has made it easy to ensure your WFH environment is as professional and productive as possible.

Cons

Occasionally the overlap with San Francisco means waiting for people to come online in the afternoon to get feedback on things or ask questions, but as the team in Dublin grows this will become less of an issue.

Advice to Management

Believe in and invest in your people, they are excited to help grow this company and reach more people around the world.

Pros

- Mission is very aligned with my personal career goals and journey - People at this company are kind, empathetic, and really effing care about what they do - Decent comp, benefits, education opportunities

Cons

- Holy thrash, batman! - Layoffs sucked (still haven't solved anything with these) - Execs are all smart folks who I admire personally but they treat their capable and smart employees like they were born yesterday - Execs want to make all decisions but are very slow and too busy to micromanage - Execs are too worried about optics and not key metrics for the business

Advice to Management

- Lead by example, set a vision and stick to it - Deputize decision making - Treat your employees like adults who can get work done and take a summer Friday

Pros

Truly mission-driven. Great teams and strong people. Employees genuinely care about the success of creators.

Cons

- Quality team members are leaving left and right. - The company prioritizes the needs of high-earning creators. Not the small or struggling. - The product is not reliable. There are constant outages and bugs (big and small) that take an unbelievable amount of time to get addressed. - Existing features are lacking. New features are failing because of it. Creators are begging for simple features so they can simply use the platform. - Communication is SEVERLY lacking across teams and from the top down. Changes are made without warning far too often. Many have no rhyme or reason. Changes are made without thinking through the repercussions or the effects it will have on creators - and the team doesn't care. - Company glorifies overworking. We have unlimited PTO and are welcomed to use it... after we are overworked to the point of breaking. - We're distracted with high energy, motivating speeches, and guest appearances from top creators that love us (because we bend over backward for them and only them). But often it feels like a high school summer camp and execs are competing for spirit points.

Advice to Management

Listen to your employees. Listen to your creators.

Pros

Truly mission-driven. Great teams and strong people. Employees genuinely care about the success of creators.

Cons

- Quality team members are leaving left and right. - The company prioritizes the needs of high-earning creators. Not the small or struggling. - The product is not reliable. There are constant outages and bugs (big and small) that take an unbelievable amount of time to get addressed. - Existing features are lacking. New features are failing because of it. Creators are begging for simple features so they can simply use the platform. - Communication is SEVERLY lacking across teams and from the top down. Changes are made without warning far too often. Many have no rhyme or reason. Changes are made without thinking through the repercussions or the effects it will have on creators - and the team doesn't care. - Company glorifies overworking. We have unlimited PTO and are welcomed to use it... after we are overworked to the point of breaking. - We're distracted with high energy, motivating speeches, and guest appearances from top creators that love us (because we bend over backward for them and only them). But often it feels like a high school summer camp and execs are competing for spirit points.

Advice to Management

Listen to your employees. Listen to your creators.

Pros

People working at Patreon really care about creators and getting them paid, which is why (as a former creator myself) I'm really proud to be working here. Sure the product isn't perfect, but everyone is eager to learn and improve. The culture is great, with regular peer/employee/manager feedback cycles, openness from the leadership and transparency around business decisions.

Cons

It's still a startup, which means a lot of things are changing fast and you have to be comfortable with that.